Cultivator.



W. D. GASTON.

OULTIVATOR.

APPLICATION FILED APR.19,1907.

923, 163, Patented June 1, 1909. I

AL ACE n1 GASTON, or IRAER, IOWA.

CULTIVATOB.

"To allcohom it may concern:

Be it known that I, WALLACE D. GAsToN, a citizen lofx-the Unitedstatesj'residing at Traer, 'in the countyof'Tama and State of Iowa, haveinvented certain" new and useful Improvements in Cultivators", ofwhichthe following is a specification,

This invention relates to corn cultivators', and has for its object toproduce an implement in which the action of the shovels is similar tothat of a hand-operated hoe, wherebythe weeds in its path are out outand destroyed, in connection with a thorough stirring of the'soil.

In the operation of an ordinary corn cultivator many of the "weeds inits path are merely covered with dirt, through which they spring up in ashort"tin1e,- and others are not 1 even covered, but are simplypushed'to'one side, wherethey grow as rank as though un-' disturbed. Tokeep a cornfield clean thus requires almost constantcultivating, or thei use of ahand hoe,and in either case, theexpenditure of a gooddeal'oflabor.

Thisinvention isdesigned to secure, in a cultivatordrawn by*horses,"theaction of hand operated hoes, ra'-reciprocating 1nove-'ment'beingimparted to the shovels, and by this action the weeds in thepath of the shovels are cut off at the'roots and destroyed, and at thesame timetheground' is stirred to a suitable depth for good cultivation.

The nature of the invention will clearly appear from the description andclaims following, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, inwhich- Figure 1 is a side elevation of a machine embodying my invention,with one wheel removed, the better to show the mechanism.

Fig.2 is a fragmentary top view of the machine, showing a little morethan half thereof, it being understood that both sides of the machineare the same. Fig. 3 is a central section of one of the main drivinggears and its housing, showinga'swivel connection of 1 the gear with themain axle, to allow for the necessary movements of the plow beams. Fig.4 is a fragmentary view of the front axle and related'parts as seen fromthe rear, showing the manner of mounting the axle and its connectedgearing.

Referring now to the drawing, 1 is an axle, on which are mounted drivingwheels 2, preferably by, the usual ratchet mechanism, not shown. Theaxle is provided with I Specification of Letters Patent. Applicationfiled Apri1 19, 1907 serial n 369,694.

Patented June l, 1909.

bearings 3, which connect with diverging arms l'secured at their'rearends toa reach 5 secured at its rear end to an arch 6 supported oncaster wh'eels 7 ,"it being understood that the part of'the machinebroken away in Fig. 2 is similarto the part shown. A part of this reachextends forwardly from the intersection withthe diagonal arms, asindicated by the numeral 8, and connects with a bearing Q nOunted onthe'iniddle of the axle. Forward of this bearing the two parts of thereach diverge, and form supports for strong springs 10 which partiallysupport the plow-beams, as will be explainjed'presently. V Theimplementis drawn by a tongue 11 connecting withthe bearings 3."

Midway between the middle bearing and the side bearings the axleisexpanded into circular disks 12,which fit loosely in correspondingslots 13 in driving gears 14. Acentral pin 15 passes through a slot16*in each disk, and is secured at each end to the gear. Thisserves tocentralize the gear'with respect to the axle, and at the same timeallows it to rock'or swing in any desired direction. Adjacent to'thegear, and forming a lateral housing therefor, is the annular forward'end17 of a ploW-beam18." Each beam forks rearwardly, and between thetwoparts of the beam 19 is mounted a leg'20, slotted at 21 to take'ananti-friction roller 22 pivoted at the convergence of a pair of arms 23forming a part of each beam. Near the lower end the leg is provided withanti-friction rollers 24 at each side, to run in curved slots 25 formedin the lower parts of the-beams. To the lower end of each leg is pivoteda foot 26, to which is secured a shovel 27. Each leg connects by a rod28 with a crank 29 on a short shaft 30 mounted in bearings 31 on thebeam. Between the bearings is a pinion 32 secured to the crank-shaft,and meshing with the main drive-gear above described. Each of theseconnecting rods also connects with a shoe forward of the leg by a link33, so that the osition of the shovel is positively controlled by saidleg and connectingrod, as clearly shown in Fig. l. The'beams aresupported at the forward ends by braces 34 and 35 pivotally connectingwith bridges 36 spanning the main drive-gears, and connecting thecentral and side bearings above described. To the forward end of theupper 10, which carries most of the weight of the beam and itsconnections. When not in use the beams are supported at the rear byhooks 37 attached to the rear arch.

The action of the implement will be evident from the foregoing, taken inconnection with the illustrations. As it is drawn forward thecrank-shaft is driven quite rapidly by its pinion, and a correspondingvibration is imparted to the legs and shovels. The connections are such,as will be seen, that when the cranks move forward the-shovels not onlyvmove in the same direction, but dip downwardly, cutting into the soil,and severing and uprooting the weeds in their paths. As the cranks passthe center, how ever, and move backwardly, the shovels are by the samemechanism lifted out of the ground, and are carried through the air tothe rearward limit of their movement. This rapid reciprocating movementof the shovels simulates the chopping action of a hand hoe, andproducesthe same desirable results.

- Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire tosecure by Letters Patent, is:

1. In a cultivator, the combination of carrying wheels, an axle driventhereby, gearing connecting with said axle, a crank driven by saidgearing, a plow-beam attached to the axle, a leg pivoted to said beam, ashovel pivotally connected with the leg, a connecting rod from the crankto the leg, and a link connecting said rod with the shovel atsomedistance from the leg.

2. In a cultivator having supporting Wheels and an axle driven'thereby,the combination of a plow-beam having an upper pivotal point of supportfor a leg, an extended guide-way for the lower end of the leg, a legadapted to engage said pivotal point of support and guide-way, ashovelfoot pivoted to the lower end of the leg, a rod pivoted to the legat a higher point, a link connecting said foot and rod, a crank andgearing actuated by the dapted to reciprocate the leg, substantially asdescribed.

3. In a cultivator having carrying wheels and. an axle driven thereby,the combination beam, reciprocating legs attached thereto, a bridgejournaled on the axle, and adapted to support the front end of the beam,gearing adapted totransmit movement to said'leg, and a swivel-jointconnection of'said gearing with. the axle, substantially as described.

4. In a cultivator having carrying wheels and an axle driven thereby, agear having a swiveled connection with the axle, a beam straddling saidgear, with housings to hold the gear laterally, a leg pivotallyandreciprocatingly mounted on the beam, andmechanism adapted totransmit: movement from the. gearing to said leg.

5. In a cultivator having carrying wheels and an axle'driven thereby,the combination of plow-beams, reciprocating shovels and legs carriedthereby,: gearing and connecting mechanism adapted to transmitreciprocating movement tosaid legs, a reach mounted midway of saidbeams, a caster-supported arch attached to the rear of said reach,diverging forward extensions of the reach, and spring connecting saidreach extensions and said beams, and adapted to counterbalance theweight thereof, in whole or in part.

In testimony whereof I afiix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

WALLACE D. GASTON. Witnesses:

- J. L. THOMAS,

W. E. 'VSTOOKES.

main axle, and

